Santa Monica police conducted a “bike theft sting” operation on Thursday, July 30, arresting a 22-year-old homeless man who stole a locked bicycle that was being tracked by GPS.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department conducted a “bike theft sting” operation on this day within the boundaries of the Downtown Santa Monica area.
This operation was in response to an increase in the number of bicycle thefts that had recently been reported in the district.
One of the tactics utilized by the team charged with conducting this operation was to stealthily equip a Santa Monica Police Department owned bicycle with a GPS tracking device and leave the bicycle locked in an alley behind Third Street Promenade and Colorado Avenue.
At approximately 12:05 pm on the above date, officers were alerted that the bicycle had been tampered with and was on the move.
The responding officers used their technology to track the bicycle to the 1400 block of Idaho Avenue where they spotted the suspect riding the bicycle.
The officers stopped the apparently somewhat surprised suspect and he was arrested and taken to Santa Monica Jail.
This man was later charged with grand theft in addition to a violation of probation. Bail was not granted.
Editor’s Note: These reports are part of a regular police coverage series entitled “Alert Police Blotter” (APB), which injects some minor editorial into certain police activities in Santa Monica. Not all of The Mirror’s coverage of incidents involving police are portrayed in this manner. More serious crimes and police-related activities are regularly reported without editorial in the pages of the Santa Monica Mirror and its website, smmirror.com.
